Telecom Licensing – An Asset to Your Business

Did you know that Licensing for a telecom is not a Necessary Evil rather it is an asset! FCC and state level Public Utility Commissions are very clear on who and how a carrier must be registered. And most regulating municipalities are no different. All want to know who are performing necessary communications to their constituency.

But, for the well informed and well planned enterprise, this is an opportunity. By planning for and recouping the cost of jurisdictional registration, licensing and reporting a carrier builds its foundation of business on solid grounds. Those that do not act appropriately spend more money than planned defending their inaction (something we will discuss in a future blog). Yes. Licensing is an asset. How do we know? GSA is often brought in to evaluate a company’s performance to compliance during an acquisition. We have seen the value decline by as much as 75% of the market value due to the target acquisition entity failing to comply with regulatory and indirect tax responsibilities. In today’s sophisticated investor pool, due diligence is designed to root out “successor liability” and for telecom companies the deepest pool of liability is in failed performance to regulatory and tax.

At the root of this failure is usually at the onset of business. Simply put, if you are not licensed to do business as a telecom, buyers may not be interested in that revenue and there goes the value of your company. Licensing, (and reporting) are the fastest way to build confidence for any future sale and if you can make a business perform the right way, your licensing asset will be a foundation others will want to buy.